A night to remember

Wanderers signed off in style with a sensational second half show that proved a fitting finale to 102 years of football at the grand old stadium.

No one could have planned a better send-off. Players and supporters, the young and the old, had a thrilling win to savour as they wallowed in a night of nostalgia that rang out the old and rang in the new.

The Burnden era ended and now they look forward with anticipation to a new beginning at the Reebok Stadium.

A satellite TV audience witnessed the historic scenes and Charlton did their best to spoil the party.

But this was essentially a private affair, an occasion that belonged to Wanderers folk and their adopted sons - the old players who graced the hallowed turf and the current crop who have given today's fans a season to remember.

And nothing was going to stop them bowing out in a blaze of glory.

John McGinlay, who wrote another chapter in the fairy tale that has seen him join the ranks of the Burnden legends in just five sensational seasons, put the gloss on one of the most memorable nights in the club's proud history with two vital late goals.

Wanderers now go to Tranmere for their final fixture knowing they have given themselves a fighting chance of achieving the unique double of 100 points and 100 league goals.

Yet, whatever happens next Sunday at Prenton Park, they know they did themselves proud on a night that went according to plan from the minute the gates were opened at 6.30.

Charlton didn't appear to have read the carefully-constructed script, though, and it wasn't looking so good when Mark Kinsella fired them into a 1-0 interval lead.

"The lads sat in the dressing room at half time and we were all determined that it shouldn't end that way," McGinlay revealed.

"We had to win our last game at Burnden Park. That determination helped us step up a gear in the second half and we couldn't have stage-managed it better if we'd tried.

"This has to be the best night of my life."

Emotions ran high from start to finish.

Roy Hartle, one of the so-called 'hard men' of the 1958 FA Cup winning side unashamedly wept as he joined the many old favourites on a pre-match parade on the pitch where he spent 18 successful seasons. And Alan Thompson, young star of Colin Todd's record-breaking Championship side, choked back tears as the final seconds of the game ticked away.

"I had to try to stop myself crying in the last couple of minutes," Thompson admitted after turning the tide of events with his early second half equaliser.

"But there were tears in a few of the other players' eyes in the dressing room just as I'm sure there were tears shed by a lot of the supporters."

Sentiment reigned at the end too, when Todd, who has steered his side back to the Premiership at the first attempt, sent three players up to receive the Championship trophy - club captain McGinlay, team captain Gudni Bergsson and Gerry Taggart, who has also worn the skipper's armband with distinction.

The big Ulsterman, who volleyed the important second goal to add to his outstanding work at the back, spoke of his personal pride and the collective satisfaction that the team had provided a fitting, winning end to the Burnden years.

"This is a proud night for us all," Taggart said. "It's great for the players to mark the last game on the ground with such an exciting win.

"No-one could ask for more. This is a night that's going to go down in history and that in itself was always going to be something special. But for us to win 4-1 ... well, it's something I'll never forget and it will probably take a long time for it to sink in." Yet nothing this Bolton team does should surprise anyone. They have dominated the division from start to finish, smashing records along the way, and provided some of the finest footballing entertainment seen at Burnden Park for many a year.

They fell some way short of their high standards in the first half as Charlton hustled them in midfield and used the highly-rated Richard Rufus to keep Nathan Blake under wraps. Wanderers had a handful of chances but couldn't stick them away.

But Thompson changed his boots and changed the course of the game.

The Geordie Boy, sported a red pair supplied by his sponsors specially for the occasion in the first half before switching to more familiar footwear. A minute into the second half he was turning away in celebration after his black-booted, right-foot shot took a deflection past Andy Petterson.

"I've worn blue ones and green ones in the past and I'll try anything," he explained. "But when things weren't going right I decided I'd change back to the ones I scored twice with against Oxford. And they did the trick."

Taggart reckons he will stick to his red pair after the sweetest of touches gave him his fourth goal of a season that has more than made up for an indifferent 95-96 Premiership campaign.

That relegation heartbreak seemed light years away as Wanderers lived up to their well-deserved reputation as the cream of the Nationwide League.

They will need an injection of talent before they return to the top flight. They know that but no-one should underestimate the quality or the spirit Todd has generated this season in a team that is now the highest scoring in the club's history.

McGinlay made sure of that when he fittingly stole the show with his two late strikes that eclipsed the 33-34 team's 96 League goals and set the new mark two short of the century.

The first came from the penalty spot after John Robinson had brought down the influential Scott Sellars.

The second came after Mixu Paatelainen had upset the Charlton defence with his first touch of the ball after going on as a late substitute for Blake. Jimmy Phillips - the local boy bursting with pride at playing his part in the success - supplied the cross that left a close-range tap-in - a McGinlay special!

They were priceless goals. Charlton weren't beaten at 2-1 and Keith Branagan, who was in at the start of the glory run five years ago, had to make important saves from Paul Mortimer and Carl Leaburn to keep his team in sight of their historic twin targets.

The Republic of Ireland keeper, enjoying his third promotion with Wanderers, had no hesitation in prounouncing: "That's the best yet.

"It's been five fantastic seasons and it's got better and better every year. There's been a couple of setbacks along the way but I've seen this club steadily go forward since I came here and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.

"The way we've won the last game at Burnden Park sums up the whole season but, for me, it's not just about this season. It's about a club moving forward to better things.

"We're leaving this ground in much better shape than we were when I arrived and I'm proud to be part of it. But I don't want it to end here - nobody wants it to end.

"What is coming up is the start of something new and I want to be part of that too."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.